Our Natural History : The Lessons of Lewis and Clark

Often referred to as America's national epic of exploration, the 28-month Lewis and Clark expedition was certainly America's greatest odyssey. Commissioned in 1804 by Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set off on the greatest wilderness trip ever recorded. Beginning in St. Louis, they navigated up the Missouri River and through the prairies, enduring a winter with the Mandan Indians in North Dakota, reaching the summit of the Rocky Mountains and then following the Columbia River to their final destination, the Pacific Ocean. Trained in natural history and in the methods of collecting plant and animal samples, Lewis and Clark carefully and meticulously recorded the conditions of the rivers, prairies, forests, mountains, and wildlife of pre-industrial America. Now, in this new edition of Our Natural History , Daniel B. Botkin, a distinguished botanist and naturalist, re-creates the grand journey—taking us on an exciting ecological adventure back to the landscape of the great American West. In retracing their steps, Botkin reveals what this western landscape actually looked like and how much it's been changed by modern civilization and technology. With fresh insight, Botkin shows us that from the explorers' observations, we can learn much about the environment of our past, our environment today, and what our environment might be in the future. Now with a new Afterword marking the 200th anniversary of the expedition, this timely and thought-provoking book captures our imagination and stimulates our sentiment with lessons about our environment and our place within it. Our Natural History offers a stunning and rare portrait of the rugged, beautiful, disappearing wilderness of the American West. Publishers Weekly This intriguing volume begins with Lewis and Clark's search for a pass in the Rocky Mountain wilderness; it ends with the author's search for original prairie in Omaha, Nebraska. Botkin (Discordant Harmony: A New Ecology for the Twenty-first Century) describes the American West as seen by Lewis and Clark in 1804-06 and compares it with today's West as shaped by industrial civilization. It is a unique picture of frontier wilderness, interwoven with Botkin's own perspective on nature. He maintains that our present approach to environmental issues is based on faulty beliefs, mythologies and religious convictions. The records of Lewis and Clark are valuable for helping us understand what nature was like before we changed it. Botkin notes that we rarely approach conservation with the methodical intensity found in the explorers' journals. He has given us a fresh and welcome perspective on that historic expedition. BOMC selection. (May) Even after two hundred years, Lewis and Clark's famous journey from St. Louis to the Pacific continues to capture our imagination. Many people have followed their trek westward, pitting themselves against the elements, imagining they were facing the challenges those two explorers encountered. In Our Natural History, Daniel Botkin, a scientist who feels a natural kinship with Lewis and Clark, uses their experiences to explode the myths that keep us from making wise decisions about our present and future. Writing about grizzlies, buffalo, salmon, rivers, forests, and Indians, Botkin shows us that the nature of nature is change, and that we must study and understand the complexity of that change instead of simply yearning for a past that never was. He challenges the myth of a pristine natural past, one that was in perfect and unchanging balance, as he revisits key points on the Lewis and Clark journey. Botkin weaves his own experiences as a naturalist and scientist in the wilderness throughout the book, showing how the most sophisticated science of today ultimately depends on the same kind of observation that Lewis and Clark accomplished. Writing in the tradition of great naturalists, this leading scientist will change forever the way we think about nature and our role in it. Often referred to as America's national epic of exploration, the 28-month Lewis and Clark expedition was certainly America's greatest odyssey. Commissioned in 1804 by Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set off on the greatest wilderness trip ever recorded. Beginning in St. Louis, they navigated up the Missouri River and through the prairies, enduring a winter with the Mandan Indians in North Dakota, reaching the summit of the Rocky Mountains and then following the Columbia River to their final destination, the Pacific Ocean. Trained in natural history and in the methods of collecting plant and animal samples, Lewis and Clark carefully and meticulously recorded the conditions of the rivers, prairies, forests, mountains, and wildlife of pre-industrial America. Daniel B. Botkin, a botanist and naturalist, re-creates the journey--taking readers on an ecological adventure back to the landscape of the great American West. In retracing their steps, Botkin reveals what this western landscape actually looked like and how much it's been changed by modern civilization and technology. Botkin shows us that from the explorers' observations, we can learn much about the environment of our past, our environment today, and what our environment might be in the future Botkin Uses The Experiences Of Lewis And Clark To Challenge The Myth Of A Pristine Natural Past. A Road Through The Wilderness -- Meanders: Nature And The Missouri River -- Wet And Dry Mud -- Thirty-seven Grizzly Bears In The Wilderness -- A Measured Journey -- Buffalo And Winter On The Plains: Technology Meets Wilderness -- Wolves, People, And Biological Diversity -- Through The Mountains -- Down The Columbia -- Winter And Wood On The Pacific Coast -- The Return Through Prairie Country. Daniel Botkin. A Grosset/putnam Book. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Botkin, a distinguished botanist and naturalist, re-creates the grand journey, revealing what this western landscape actually looked like and how much it's been changed by modern civilization and technology. From the explorers' observations, we can learn much about our past, present and future environment Ved at studere de 2 amerikanske naturforskere Meriwether Lewis og William Clarks dagbøger fra deres rejse ned langs den amerikanske vestkyst 1804-1806 og besøge nogle af stederne søger forfatteren at nå til en forståelse af nutidens miljø og søger at finde svar på udviklingen fremover